(Open but expecting)

Genji was walking around the market, clad in practical robes. Their time here will soon come to an end, so it seemed fitting to at least get a souvenir for his little sister while he was here. He found the markets fascinating, stopping at every little booth, no matter how mundane.

"So, this is yam? Huh. Never heard of it."

Coming up the street in his brown kimono and his geta, the old man just happened to overhear the young prince.

"Coming to know your vegetables, Hantei-sama?" He peered at the cart, rubbing the back of his head as he became momentarily lost in thought, then bowed to Genji. "Akodo Daigoro, water specialist. Former farmer." He thrust his chin at the cart. "Home territory, in some ways."

Not too far behind the eldest Lion came the youngest, though her path had not been specifically following his. Still Ayano approached, then noticed the other younger man.

She wore one of her less fancy outfits, but as a child of a daimyo always felt it necessary to wear more then a simple brown kimono. Bowing upon being noticed, "Forgive my intrusion on your shopping Hantei-sama, Akodo-san." She smiled, "Ayano of the Makime, envoy of the Lion."

Daigoro returned the greeting with a smile and a bow. "Good to see you, Makime-sama." He indicated the prince. "Hantei-sama, here, was just learning about the mysteries of root vegetables."

Genji gave a deep bow towards the Lions, the mini-pride, if you will.

"Akodo-san, Makime-san, greetings. Hantei Genji, humble son of the Stag." He smiled. "To be honest, yam is not something I have encountered much in our lands." He shrugged. "Though it might be a curious souvenir, I must confess. Or is it rare?"

Ayano peered around the two, she wasn't much of a farmer herself but the Makime maiden had an eye for trade. "I believe we have a few of these grown in our lands." She looked to the elder Lion for confirmation. "I have not had one myself."

There was a moment of silence as she pondered the vegetable, "...I believe they are fairly hardy as a plant, but I may be wrong there." Again she glanced at the Akodo.

The old man laughed. "Makime-sama is correct. They are a hardy plant, though you've got to watch out for Nematode and pests. More labor-intensive than a number of your other vegetables, especially because they like to big and spread themselves out and dig themselves deep if you don't watch your spacing. There's probably some of your hilly spaces that get a lot of rainfall that might do good for yam cultivation, Hantei-sama. Can't say for sure. But if you could find a way to preserve it, you could use one from up here to produce seeds and find out."

"Nematode?" His eyes were wide as he asked. What the jigoku was that?!

"Hardy plants...perhaps something to consider. Are they...good? Have you had any, Makime-san, Akodo-san?"

"Yes, though it was while I was travelling with my grandfather." Ayano replied, "Mother has a growing preference for rice, though I am given to understanding its cultivation is more difficult then yams."

She smiled slightly as her memories had proven correct, still a young student in that regard.

"They taste pretty neutral, just a hint of sweetness. Got to cook them before eating, though, because they'll mes you up good if you don't."

Daigoro nodded along to his own explanation. "You're not eating a lot of tubers down Stag way?"

Genji shrugged. "Mostly rice and some other stuff? Unsure of tubers." Yep, this was not his world.

"Oh? Where did you travel Makime-san, if I may ask? I visited Nezumi lands once." His voice fell a bit, though he tried to be upbeat about it. Or something.

"Down to your lands actually, my grandfather is a merchant by trade and when I was younger he allowed me to accompany him." Ayano smiled at that, some of her happier memories. "Mostly we followed the coast, trying to find trading partners, build relationships for future trips, and the like."